Luis Arraez, Phillies Beat Nationals With New Look Team
Philadelphia Phillies' Luis Arraez celebrates after scoring on a double by Brandon Marsh during the third inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum
The new-look Phillies took the field for what is hopefully the first of many games for the remainder of the season. This would not only shuffle the lineup but also the defensive positioning. The Phillies are in need of a jumpstart, and they got it.
They looked like a rejuvenated team with their trade-deadline acquisitions, who made an impact and drove the Phils to a 5-0 win over the Washington Nationals.
The Phillies’ big trade acquisition didn’t take long to pay dividends in this game. In the first inning, Luis Arraez came up to a very warm reception and, with runners on first and second, showed Phillies fans what his game is all about and muscled a single into left-center, scoring Trea Turner for his first hit and RBI in the red pinstripes.
He didn’t wait long to get back to it. In the bottom of the third, Arraez came up with the same situation; this time he hit an RBI double, and Alec Bohm hit a long sac fly, scoring Harper. Brandon Marsh hit a double, and in the blink of an eye it was 4-0 Phils. In the seventh, Turner singled home Justin Crawford to add an insurance run, making the game 5-0, which ended up being the final score.
Phillies Offense Looks Complete with Arraez
With the addition of Arraez in the middle of the Phillies lineup, they look much more confident as a group. The shift of the lineup was something that was needed, and Arraez gives Don Mattingly much more flexibility in terms of where he hits people in the order. In this game, he batted fifth in the game and paid immediate dividends. He can hit in almost any slot, as he did with the Giants, apart from the cleanup spot, but there are plenty of other bats that can fill that role.
The second time through, he was just as effective, not only with the double, but he does the one thing that has evaded Phillies hitters for a few seasons: longer at-bats. Arraez isn’t afraid to go up and take a few pitches to get to two strikes. He takes pitches and makes the pitcher throw him what he wants, and that resulted in an RBI double. Even when he wasn’t hitting, he was still drawing five-plus pitches in his at-bats. Time will tell how this team responds to having a hitter like Arraez in the lineup, but one thing is for sure: his energy is just what the Phillies needed to get back on track at the plate.
Luzardo in Cruise Control at Home
This game was a game where Jesus Luzardo started the season at home stumbling, but in the last three starts he has been lights out at home, where he’s 2-1 with a 1.89 ERA. In his previous seven home starts, he was 1-4 with a 7.34 ERA. What has changed isn’t his arsenal; his success has come from how he is pitching ahead of schedule and using the sweeper off the sinker, which he uses off the fastball. He is also using tunneling to change the eye level of the hitters.
Luzardo pitched his best game of the season, throwing eight shutout innings in perhaps his best pitched game of the season. Over his eight innings, he gave up four hits, walked two, and struck out seven, in total control of the pace and tempo of the game. He did have a little bit of a weird stretch in the fifth inning, where he gave up a single to Brady House and walked Harry Ford, and after a mound visit, he came through clutch to strike out Jacob Young to end the threat. This is the fourth quality start for Luzardo at home in a row, continuing the trend of the Phillies’ top three of the rotation pitching strong this season.
Phillies New Defense Doesn’t Disappoint
One of the biggest question marks surrounding this move was the shuffled defense. With Arraez coming in to play second and that being a big thing for Arraez, he was adamant about playing second base, and because of his hard work defensively with Ron Washington in San Francisco, he has more than earned that right. Because of this, Bryson Stott moved to third base, Bohm went to first, and for the first time since 2022, Bryce Harper went back into right field, and the first pitch of the game from Luzardo was hit right at Harper so he didn’t have to wait to get settled in.
Every player at their new position fielded perfectly, and it gave some hope for this playoff sprint. At least for one game, the defense looked like this might just end up being a strength of this Phils team. The only one who showed any level of apprehension pre-game was Harper, saying that it might take him some time to build his arm strength. Before his Tommy John surgery, he always had a strong arm in right, so once he’s comfortable, this should be the best version of the Phils defense since he went to first. The Phils look to sweep the Nationals and start another series-winning streak in Game 3 of this series.
Steve Hamilton
Steve may have been born in California, but don’t let that fool you. After dating a local woman and clashing with her and her family over sports for decades, he has an affinity for Philly sports. Balancing love for Philly and Bay Area sports teams may seem impossible, we can all agree that the Cowboys are the true evil.
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